Israeli soldiers, and border-guard forces, invaded on Sunday at night Batteer village, near Bethlehem, broke into several houses and searched them, the Palestine News Network reported (PNN). The invasion is part of repeated invasions carried by the army into Bethlehem District over the past nine days. The army invaded the village from several directions, especially an the area where a train track being constructed by Israel passes through the Palestinian lands in Batteer and Al Walaja.

The train track, as planned by Israel, goes from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem passing through Palestinian lands in Bethlehem villages.The PNN said that soldiers fired flares over several fields and searched them after breaking into and searching dozens of houses there. Dozens of adults and youth were detained and interrogated after the soldiers forced them out of their homes; no residents were taken prisoner.

Al Walaja and Batir villages were some of the most heavily forested remaining in Bethlehem, however the Israeli government annexed most of the lands and declared it part of the “greater Jerusalem” area. Residents of the two villages reported that soldiers have significantly increased their presence in the area in recent days, and started using military helicopters to monitor the areas separating the area from Israeli controlled territories.